Mythology is the study of myths: stories of a particular culture that it believes to be true and that feature a specific religious or belief system. Biblical mythology is such studied applied to the stories in the Bible. For the computer game, see Myth (computer game). ... Parts of this article contradict each other. ...

According to historians of religion, many stories in the Bible fulfill the criteria of being a myth: They are based on tradition and legend designed to explain the universal and local beginnings ("creation myths" and "founding myths"), natural phenomena, inexplicable cultural conventions, and anything else for which no simple explanation presents itself.

This article concerns itself with the study of mythological narratives in the Hebrew Bible, the Apocrypha, also called inter-testamental canon, and the New Testament. This article is not intended to discuss these books from a religious point of view. 11th century Targum Tanakh [תנ״ך] (also spelt Tanach or Tenach) is an acronym for the three parts of the Hebrew Bible, based upon the initial Hebrew letters of each part: Torah [תורה] (The Law; also: Teaching or Instruction), Chumash [חומש] (The five, also Pentateuch or The five books of... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Deuterocanonical books. ... The New Testament, sometimes called the Greek Testament or Greek Scriptures is the name given to the part of the Christian Bible that was written after the birth of Jesus. ...

It should be noted that some Jews and Christians strongly object to the use of the term myth to refer to any part of their respective religious texts or beliefs. They view their scripture as divinely revealed by God. This is largely due to the popular use of the word myth to mean a falsehood instead of the more correct definition, but also on general principle. Other Jews and Christians do not take everything in these stories to be literal and are more than open to discussing them as myths. For information on the last book of the New Testament see the entry on the Book of Revelation. ... The term God (capitalized in English language as a proper noun) is often used to refer to a Supreme Being. ...

Mythology in the Hebrew Bible

The primary source for Biblical mythology lies in the Creation narratives of Genesis. The creation of Adam and Eve as the first humans is the source of much critical analysis and discussion. In its widest sense, creationism (from the Latin creatio) refers to the theological doctrine that all material in the universe was created by a divine agency, such as God, out of nothingness (ex nihilo). ... Genesis (Greek: Γένεσις, having the meanings of birth, creation, cause, beginning, source and origin) is the first book of the Torah (five books of Moses) and hence the first book of the Tanakh, part of the Hebrew Bible; it is also the first book of the Christian Old Testament. ... God creates Adam, by Michelangelo. ...

These narratives briefly mention the existence of the Leviathan and the Behemoth, both of which later became rich sources of discussion in Jewish folklore and the rabbinic aggadah The Destruction of Leviathan, an engraving made in 1865 by Gustave Doré. The engraving depicts God slaying the legendary Leviathan, a sea monster. ... Behemoth and Leviathan, an engraving by William Blake Behemoth (Hebrew בהמות BÉ™hÄ“môth, Behemot, Bhemot Beasts; animals; Arabic بهيموث BahÄ«mÅ«th or بهموت BahamÅ«t) is the untranslated name of an amphibious animal mentioned in the Book of Job, 40:15-24. ... Jewish mythology is the body of mythology of the Jewish people and Judaism as understood by some people. ... Aggadah ( Aramaic אגדה: tales, lore; pl. ...

Leviathan (לִוְיָתָן "Twisted; coiled", Standard Hebrew Livyatan,) was a Biblical sea monster. It is Referred to in passing in Psalms 74:13-14; Job 41; and Isaiah 27:1. It may have referred to a crocodile or whale. The word leviathan has become synonymous with any large monster or creature. It is also mentioned in earlier Ugaritic mythology, under the name Ltn (*Lôtân), in which it is associated with the sea-god Yam. The Destruction of Leviathan, an engraving made in 1865 by Gustave Doré. The engraving depicts God slaying the legendary Leviathan, a sea monster. ... The Modern Hebrew language is a Semitic language of the Afro-Asiatic language family. ... Parts of this article contradict each other. ... Picture taken from a Hetzel copy of Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea Sea monsters are mythical and legendary gigantic sea-dwelling creatures (but see also lake monsters). ... Psalms (Tehilim תהילים, in Hebrew) is a book of the Hebrew Bible or Tanakh, and of the Old Testament of the Christian Bible. ... The Book of Job (איוב, Standard Hebrew Iyyov, Tiberian Hebrew ʾIyyôḇ; Arabic أيّوب ʾAyyÅ«b) is one of the books of the Hebrew Bible, or Tanakh, and is also one of the books of the Christian Old Testament. ... Isaiah the Prophet in Hebrew Scriptures was depicted on the Sistine Chapel ceiling by Michelangelo. ... Genera Crocodylus Osteolaemus Tomistoma See full taxonomy. ... Whales are not the largest species of exclusively aquatic placental mammals, members of the order Cetacea, which also includes dolphins and porpoises. ... The Ugaritic language is known to us only in the form of writings found in the lost city of Ugarit since its discovery by French archaeologists in 1928. ... Yaw or Yam is the name for the Levantine god of chaos and the power of the untamed sea as found in texts from the ancient city of Ugarit. ...

Behemoth (Hebrew בהמות Bəhēmôth, Behemot, "Beasts; animals") is the untranslated name of an amphibious animal mentioned in the Book of Job, 40:15. Suggestions as to his identity include a hippopotamus, a water buffalo, a crocodile, or a dinosaur. Behemoth and Leviathan, an engraving by William Blake Behemoth (Hebrew בהמות BÉ™hÄ“môth, Behemot, Bhemot Beasts; animals; Arabic بهيموث BahÄ«mÅ«th or بهموت BahamÅ«t) is the untranslated name of an amphibious animal mentioned in the Book of Job, 40:15-24. ... Hebrew is a Semitic language of the Afro-Asiatic language family spoken by 6 million people mainly in Israel, parts of the Palestinian territories, the United States and by Jewish communities around the world. ... For other uses, see Amphibian (disambiguation). ... The Book of Job (איוב, Standard Hebrew Iyyov, Tiberian Hebrew ʾIyyôḇ; Arabic أيّوب ʾAyyÅ«b) is one of the books of the Hebrew Bible, or Tanakh, and is also one of the books of the Christian Old Testament. ... Binomial name Hippopotamus amphibius Linnaeus, 1758 The Hippopotamus (Hippopotamus amphibius) or Greek ίππόποταμος (river horse) is a large, plant-eating African mammal, one of only two living and three (or four) recently extinct species in the family Hippopotamidae. ... Binomial name Bubalus arnee (Kerr, 1792) The Water Buffalo is a very large ungulate. ... Genera Crocodylus Osteolaemus Tomistoma See full taxonomy. ... Orders Saurischia    Sauropodomorpha    Theropoda Ornithischia Dinosaurs are animals that dominated the terrestrial ecosystem for over 100 million years. ...

The Hebrew Bible arguably has far fewer mythological characteristics than similar works of other ancient near-eastern cultures. Both traditional rabbinic Jews and historians of religion concur that the Torah was written in response to the beliefs and practices of nearbypolytheistic religions. (On why and how the Torah was written, of course, modern critical scholars and traditional rabbinic Jews disagree.) Polytheism is belief in, or worship of, multiple gods or divinities. ...

The commandments in the Hebrew Bible against idolatry are rejoinders to the beliefs and practices of the ancient polytheistic religions of the ancient near-east and middle-east. Specifically, the Bible makes rejoinders against the religions of ancient Akkad, Mesopotamia, and Egypt. Many polytheistic ancient near-eastern and middle-eastern religions were said (by their detractors, i.e. Jewish prophets) to have a set of practices which the Israelites should have found horribly immoral, such as orgiastic sex rites; cultic male prostitution; cultic female prostitution; passing a child through a fire to Molech; and child sacrifice. Idolatry is a term used by many religions to describe the worship of a false deity, which is an affront to their understanding of divinity. ... Akkad (or Agade) was a city and its region of northern Mesopotamia, (located in present-day Iraq) between Assyria to the northwest and Sumer to the south. ... Mesopotamia [mesuputāmēu] (Greek: Μεσοποταμία, translated from Old Persian Miyanrudan the Land between the Rivers or the Aramaic name Beth-Nahrin House of Two Rivers) is a region of Southwest Asia. ...

Mythology in the Apocrypha

To be written.

Mythology in the New Testament

To be written. See Christian mythology. A myth is a story with deep explanatory or symbolic significance, and thus, without addressing any issues of core beliefs of Christianity, Christian mythology is therefore a body of stories that explains or symbolizes Christian beliefs. ...

External links

• Hebrew Mythology Library